Riptide (Dark Shores)
}} Riptide is the protagonist and PoV character of the story Dark Shores. He is a Seapony from the Reef Dwellers, a tribe of Seaponies that are further away from the other tribes and more isolated. Riptide is the apprentice of the tribe's shaman Hollow Bones, set to replace her as the tribe's shaman. History Backstory Riptide is a Seapony, infatuated with movies and film making. He enjoys spending his free time watching old pre-war movies in the tribe's land based cinema house. Riptide's parents died when he was young, he is the apprentice and adopted son of the tribe's shaman, Hollow Bones, who is training him to replace her as the tribe's shaman. Present Day Whilst watching an old movie, Sin City, Riptide is called away by his mentor Hollow Bones. He is tasked with recovering natural ingredients from the local area to help make a special hallucinogen, used in one of the tribe's ceremonies for Seaponies who have yet to attain their cutie marks. Riptide goes out and discovers two stable ponies from a damaged ship, and tows them back to his village after being attacked by a Radshark. Riptide kills the shark and aids in administering medical care to one of the ponies he rescued. Hollow Bones sends Riptide to escort the recently treated mare Sorbet and her filly Éclair as they seek out medical supplies for the tribe and further medical treatment for Sorbet aboard their ship, the Poseidon. The trio stumble upon a ghost ship where they recover several items and some sealed, pre-war food. Riptide is forced to kill a group of pirates/raiders who boarded the ship after them, Éclair herself manages to kill one of the ponies who captured her. The group makes it's way to Steam Town, a settlement where Sorbet can receive further treatment. Riptide journeys alone to a Relay tower for Short Wave after killing a nest of rattlemantas and manages to reactivate it, he also encounters his first ghoul pony which he identifies as a zombie. Using his knowledge of zombies from movies, Riptide kills the ghouls and uses a spell he learned from a memory orb he accidentally activated when trying to turn on the tower. Upon returning to Steam Town, Riptide is rewarded by Short Wave and given a fully functional camera which he can use to play and record movies. Riptide's Seapony status is accidentally revealed and he is held for questioning by Steam Town's authorities before they release him. Riptide and his group get ambushed by a band of mercenaries lead by a helmeted pony by the name of Gamma. After a lengthy battle, the mercenaries' ship exploded. Riptide was impaled from a large chunk of wooden shrapnel in the explosion. A wandering Seapony investigating the explosion discovered him sinking to the bottom. The Seapony, Jetsam, took him to a ancient pirate hideaway on a deserted island to give Riptide medical attention from a former acquaintance of his, Aunt Mary Gold. After making a full recovery, Sorbet shared with Riptide the true reason for her expedition past the Storm Wall: to gain access to a secret project of unrivaled magi-technological significance. The research of that project was on the tourist island territory of Summer Sunset Isle. With renewed vigor, Riptide and company sail on to Summer Sunset Isle. After making port in the settlement of Diamond Harbor, Riptide's group made their way to a secret lab hidden within a bank. Inside they encounter a Cybermare named Sugar Rush. Panicking after seeing three armed ponies suddenly upon her, Sugar Rush attempts to kill the group with a laser cannon. Riptide disarms Sugar Rush but leaves her alive. Sorbet attempts to load the research data from the terminal inside the secret room, but only gets a recording of a slightly panicked stallion and mare, telling the party that the research data has been moved, and that the directions are on the film reels Riptide had picked up from an office safe in the lab earlier. Sugar Rush explains to the party, after being asked a few questions pertaining to why she was there, that she was hired by the Mason's Guild to clear out the place of trouble. Riptide and company accept the story, but are still wary about her. After a short ride in Sugar's Jack Rabbit transportation vehicle (in which she explains how she got in through the Storm Wall from the mainland), they arrive back at Diamond Harbor. Using Sugar Rush's projector, they discover coordinate numbers on the "cigarette-burns" on the film reel, the closest of the locations being Target Island, an old Equestrian Navy testing ground. After making sure that Sugar Rush's story checks out (during which time Riptide concocts anti-radiation mixtures for use on the irradiated island), and that their supplies are stocked up, they set sail with the newly-upgraded Poseidon to recover the data. Traits Appearance Riptide has a sea-green coat and a salt and pepper mane. He has two front hooves, and a solid tail instead of rear legs. He has a unicorn's horn, allowing him to perform magic as well. Abilities Riptide is a capable hunter, skilled at avoiding detection and killing sea life such as poisonous fluffer fish, radsharks, and rattlemantas. He has skill in medicine, capable of treating wounds and is knowledgeable about the advantages and disadvantages of natural medicines and zebra alchemical medicine. Riptide can also perform magic and has shown exceptional control over his natural telekinesis spell. He is an amphibious Seapony, and can survive underwater, as well as lead a landlocked life if needed. Known spells *Telekinesis *Magical barrier Equipment Riptide uses melee weapons such as spears, knives and machetes. He also owns a coral club, crafted by one of his fellow Seaponies. He stores his supplies in a watertight saddlebag made from the stomach of a radshark. He originally wore armor made from the hide of a radshark. After being captured by mercenaries outside of Steam town, he began wearing light metal armor he obtained from a slain mercenary. He since had his radshark hide armor re-sized for Eclair's use. In addition to light armor, Riptide wears a cloak to disguise his race while in public places. Gallery DarkShores Riptide image.png|Riptide from the cover art. Riptide by sinrar-d7hzuik.png|Rendition of Riptide by |link=http://sinrar.deviantart.com/ Rise of the seapony by spyroconspirator-d5gyxud.png|Rendition of Riptide by |link=http://spyroconspirator.deviantart.com/ Category:Characters Category:Seaponies Category:Characters (Dark Shores)